1918–19 Chelsea F.C. season

The 1918–19 season was Chelsea Football Club's thirteenth year in existence. Due to the ongoing First World War, the Football League and the FA Cup were suspended so the club instead participated in the London Combination, an unofficial regional league mainly comprising teams from London. Results and statistics from these matches are not considered official. Chelsea finished 6th in the league, but did win the London Victory Cup.[1]

Chelsea
1918–19 season
ChairmanClaude Kirby
ManagerDavid Calderhead
StadiumStamford Bridge
London Combination6th
London Victory CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague:
All: Joe Smith (21)
Biggest win6–0 v Clapton Orient
(12 October 1918)
Biggest defeat2–6 v Fulham
(1 March 1919)

Former Chelsea player Philip Smith was killed in action whilst fighting in the Western Front on 29 September 1918.[2] George Lake died of wounds on 6 November 1918, five days before the armistice, two days after his battalion's attempt to cross the Sambre–Oise Canal near Frasnoy, France.[3] He was buried in Frasnoy Communal Cemetery.[4] Lake was one of the two last English footballers to die in the war, dying on the same day as Edward Thompson.[5][6]

Notes

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  1. ^ "England 1917/18". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Philip Smith | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  3. ^ "George Lake – Chelsea FC and the First World War". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  4. ^ "CWGC – Casualty Details". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  5. ^ Brennan, Stuart (17 November 2014). "Man City legend Lake stunned to discover First World War link". Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Chelsea in the First World War". chelseafc.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.

References

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  • Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7553-1466-2.
  • Hockings, Ron. 100 Years of The Blues – A Statistical History of Chelsea FC 1905–2006.
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